[joe_mamba]

If it makes you happy, is it really wasted? People waste money on a lot of shit they don't need, but if they're financially responsible and not going into debt and becoming homeless, who's to say they shouldn't be buying overpriced audio gear? If people stopped spending their disposable income on stuff they don't need to survive, the economy would collapse.

[nick__m]

There a difference between overpriced and snake oil. If you claim that your cables "gives the breath-taking experience of ‘being there’ thanks to the purity of its conductors and their precise geometry" your firmly into the snake oil territory. If you sell an amp with hand picked components to achieve 0.001% THD at 100w on a 4KHz test tone, it's probably overkill and overpriced but unlike the cables it's not fraud adjacent.

[cjbgkagh]

It is a negative as it is creating a market for deception, by paying for it they are giving money to people who specialize in deception who otherwise would have to do something else. These people will continue improving their abilities to take advantage of the borderline credulous who would have otherwise gone unexploited.

Perhaps in the best case it is less bad than what other things they would have spent it on.

[MengerSponge]

100%

It's wrong to encourage and profit from fraud or magical thinking.

[xantronix]

I think misleading claims should be headed off with strong consumer protections. The predatory entrants in this industry should be shut down, leaving the others who do make expensive gear but actually put effort into proper engineering rigour, testing, and marketing that accurately represent the properties of their goods.

[SpicyLemonZest]

If there's some audiophile out there who loves the luxurious look and feel of their RCA cables, by all means let them enjoy it. My sense is that most people view this as a utilitarian aspect of their setup and believe they're getting some benefit in performance or QC for their money. If they're not, they'd be happier spending the money on improving the looks of the parts people actually see.

[dfxm12]

Buying snake oil is not financially responsible though. Being able to afford it doesn't change that.

Society would probably be better off if this money was otherwise spent on infrastructure projects, public research, etc.

[socalgal2]

It's not the same. Someone buying expensive fashion/watch etc generally knows it's not functionally better. They're buy because they like the style or as a signal to show of wealth.

Someone buying cables like those in the article falsely believes the cables do a better job. They don't. Other things related to audiophiles are subjective. You can like the sound of a tube amp and decide to spend on it. That's fine. No deception. But there's a long list of things many audiophiles are decieved on.

[mmooss]

Nobody spends money - or time - on unnecessary computer hardware or software.

[vjvjvjvjghv]

Except the people who buy a 4TB Macbook with 64GB RAM "just in case they may need it"

[evilduck]

Neither of those specifications seem all that large or ridiculous. You've been able to buy those specs on a Mac since the late Intel days and there's some popular activities and common career paths which quickly butt into the limits of both.

[joe_mamba]

Forgot the /s

[mmooss]

I can tell the difference between the high-end computer stuff and the bargain models that 'do the same thing'. I expect many here can, just like audiophiles can tell the difference.

Is it a waste?

[esseph]

> just like audiophiles can tell the difference

This whole thread is based on the tested idea that they cannot.

[mmooss]

I've heard that; I'm skeptical:

First, a favorite hobby to bring down the experts that make you feel inferior by saying there is no difference. 'My kid could paint abstract art.' You see I am not inferior in my understanding and maybe capacity; no, it's all a lie. It's kind of like sour grapes - very convenient to one's ego. (It also a way to shut oneself off from learning and seeing the most beautiful, valuable things in the world.)

Second, when people find one study that confirms what they want (red wine is good for you!), it becomes among the highest impact research in history.

Third, in domains where I have expertise, I can tell the difference when people without expertise insist there is none. In domains where I lacked expertise then gained it, I saw my perception change. I was blind but now I see.

Fourth, in art particularly, including in music, it is the emotional and unconcious that matter most. Those are the mediums where art mostly operates and the differences between mundane, good, and extraordinary usually are not in great strokes but in the smallest nuances. Lots of people can paint sunflowers; the details of Van Gogh's brush strokes are transformative. Like in business: the first 90% takes 10% of the time; the next 9.9999% takes 90% of the time, and the last 0.0001% takes 1,000% of the time.

[eimrine]

What is a level of bad in "economy collapse" statement?